Repeated scandals at SVT – but CEO Ann Lagercrantz dismisses responsibility before the parliament as "political interrogations"

After a fake AI-generated police film in Agenda, a controversial editing of a Trump speech, and criticism for nepotism, SVT’s CEO Anne Lagercrantz is facing questions about bias and lack of control. But when the Sweden Democrats demand that the SVT management should answer questions from the cultural committee, she launches a harsh attack and calls it “political interrogations”.

It has been turbulent around SVT in recent weeks. A misleading editing of USA’s President Trump’s speech in an SVT publication, similar to the one that caused a major scandal at the British equivalent BBC and led to the resignation of executives, but in Sweden it was allowed to pass without similar accountability.

An AI-generated police altercation in New York that was broadcast as genuine in Agenda when it went too fast and when, in their eagerness to criticize the Trump administration’s migration policy ICE initiative, they failed to do basic source-critical journalistic work.

In the sister company SR’s Saturday interview, Lagercrantz agrees that the AI clip in Agenda was serious. In the interview, she describes it as a “deplorably embarrassing mistake” and admits that the source-criticism was lacking.

– We did not have sufficient control over where this clip came from… This should not have happened.

SVT apologized and the publication was removed. But Lagercrantz emphasizes proportionality – a recurring theme in the interview:

– We broadcast 25,000 hours just on TV every year… Mistakes can happen.

Entire segment biased

In the fake clip, a local police officer is seen scolding a federal ICE officer for the initiative to find and deport people residing illegally in the USA, estimated to be more than 10 million. However, there is no such conflict between local and federal police.

It is not just the fake clip that has been criticized. The entire segment in Agenda is said to have been biased, criticizing Trump administration’s migration policy ICE initiative to address illegal immigration.

When Lagercrantz is asked about the criticized editing of the Trump speech preceding the storming of the Capitol in 2021, she states that SVT has “clarified the context”, but rejects the comparison with BBC where the action led to the resignation of executives:

– BBC… there it was a clip that was directly misleading… Our clip… does not give a misleading picture.

Critics argue, however, that even the Swedish clip gave a falsely inciting image of Trump’s speech. They also argue that in both cases, this was the intention and cannot be reduced to editorial mistakes.

SD’s demand to call SVT to the committee “political interrogations”

The most confrontational part of the interview concerns the Sweden Democrats’ demand for SVT’s top management to be called to the parliament’s cultural committee, referring to, among other things, the erroneous AI clip, the biased editing of Trump’s speech, but also the decision by the management to send the CEO’s husband, the author and multimillionaire David Lagercrantz, on a paid luxury vacation to an exclusive ski resort at the taxpayers’ expense in a travel program.

Here, Lagercrantz becomes sharp in tone and completely rejects the idea that media funded by the voters and receiving its budget through political decisions should be accountable to the people’s representatives when abusing or mishandling its mission.

– It is deeply problematic… What the Sweden Democrats are opening up for is a system of political interrogations, a detailed control of the content… then our independence would be at risk.”

She dismisses the idea that SVT, funded through taxes – and that politicians therefore want to be able to ask questions about publications – as fundamentally wrong.

– It is not to politicians that media executives should explain individual publications.”

The Sweden Democrats claim that SVT can spread “disinformation” ahead of the election campaign, something Lagercrantz believes is an attempt to inflate individual mistakes into systemic criticism.

– I see that the Sweden Democrats want to cast suspicion on individual matters and make it about systematics and a crisis of confidence.

SVT demands what they call an arm’s length distance, and Lagercrantz uses words like “casting suspicion” when SVT is criticized for not being as impartial as the mission requires. This despite the fact that even independent research institutes, including the SOM Institute and the Media Academy, have long shown that there is a significant trust gap between right and left sympathizers in their view of SVT, SR, and UR.

Lagercrantz insists in the interview that SVT works impartially, but admits that there are some structural problems in journalism, which she describes as “Stockholm fixation”, “victim journalism”, and difficulties in portraying long-term processes.

Denies left-leaning and lack of impartiality

When asked about a left-leaning bias “in the walls”, a recurring argument from critics, Lagercrantz’s continued response is that SVT is “impartial but not infallible”. At the same time, she admits that journalism often starts from “the weak side”, something she says can be perceived as left-oriented.

– What is it we do not see? That is a great question… This requires a closer contact with the audience.

But when the question is specified – the BBC report’s areas of criticism about Gaza and transgender issues – Lagercrantz shifts focus to emphasize things she is “extremely proud” of, and claims that criticism comes equally from both sides.

Public Service has been heavily criticized for its reporting on Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, which began with the Islamist terrorist militia Hamas massacre of 1,200 young Jews on October 7, 2023. Instead of supporting the Jewish state’s right to defend itself, sympathies with the Palestinian side have dominated, including accusations against the IDF of “genocide” and what many see as overt anti-Semitism.

Nepotism accusation: “I do not reason”

SD’s accusation of nepotism – that Lagercrantz’s husband, the author and multimillionaire David Lagercrantz, was offered a luxury vacation in an SVT program – is met with a strong assertion that she does not interfere in program decisions.

When the host asks if she really has not considered whether it could be perceived as a conflict of interest, she disclaims her managerial responsibility.

– I do not reason. I trust that the editorial staff… make decisions.

Lagercrantz believes that it is more important to talk about what she calls international tendencies than about how SVT performs its mission. She sees Trump’s USA and Russian state actors as particularly problematic and broadly generalizes them.

Wants additional billions from taxpayers

The interview ends with the economy. SVT argues that they are facing increasing costs, especially in the network, where TV4 and Boxer have left. Authorities have assessed that SVT is likely to receive compensation, but Lagercrantz warns of consequences if it does not happen

– It will affect the program offering and journalism.

It is about billions in extra funds that Lagercrantz wants from taxpayers in addition to the budget of approximately 9 billion tax crowns they already receive automatically. But SVT’s CEO believes that the money is needed for them to fulfill their mission within the framework of their role in total defense, not to create even more light entertainment.

Axel Andén: “Damages trust”

At the end of the program, Journalisten’s editor-in-chief Axel Andén provides a quick analysis. He does not admit that the editing of the Trump speech trailers was done intentionally or that this should have had consequences in Sweden at the same level as in the UK. He considers the AI clip to be much worse.

– It also damages the trust among those who really like and trust SVT.

He describes the conflict between politicians and the media as more intense than in the past 20 years.

– I have never seen anything like this in terms of the tone being raised.

Andén clearly takes a stand for Lagercrantz and against the Sweden Democrats in the dispute about coming to the parliament’s cultural committee for a conversation. Journalisten’s CEO says he is “shocked” by that demand.

SVT under continued pressure

Anne Lagercrantz defends SVT emphatically: mistakes happen but rarely and it is not the CEO’s fault or responsibility. According to her, the criticism is exaggerated and politically driven.

As the election campaign approaches, the question of SVT’s impartiality – and its self-image – is likely to become even more central.